Latch for sliding doors.



B. LAURITSEN.

LATCH .FOR SLIDING DOORS. APPLIOATfON FILED APR.13,1911.

1,016,422. r J Patented Feb. 6, 1912.

fi\\ 5 w: 12 k 21' 4 PH CD-YWASHINGTON n c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BERTBAN LAURITSEN, OF TWIN BBOOKS, SOUTH DAKOTA.

LATCH FOR SLIDING DOORS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BERTRAN LA'URITSEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Twin Brooks, in the county of Grant and State of South Dakota, have invented a new and useful Latch for Sliding Doors, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in latches for sliding doors.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of latches for sliding doors, such as barn doors, car doors, and the like, and to provide a simple, inexpensive and efficient latch, capable of securely holding a door in its closed position even when the same is swaying through the action of the wind or other disturbing means.

With these and other objects in view, the invent-ion consists in the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended; it being understood that va rious changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction,- within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invent-ion.

In the drawing :Figure 1 is a front elevation of a latch, constructed in accordance with this invention, and shown applied to a sliding door, the latter being closed. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the latch, the door and the supporting frame-work being in section, and the parts being arranged as shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view, the door being partly open.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawing.

In the accompanying drawing in which is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, 1 designates a latch member, pivoted at an intermediate point by a vertical bolt 2 to a supporting bracket 3 and provided at its front end with a beveled head 1, adapted to automatically engage with a catch or keeper 5, which is carried by a sliding door 6. The supporting bracket, which is secured by screws 7 or other suitable fastening devices to the supporting frame-work 8, is provided with spaced upper and lower horizontally projecting ears or lugs 9, having alined perforations for the reception of the bolt 2, which also passes through a perforation 10 of the pivoted Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 13, 1911.

Patented Feb. 6, 1912.

Serial No. 620,918.

latch member. The supporting bracket is also provided with front and rear seats 11 and 12, consisting of projecting lugs and provided with sockets or recesses 13 and 14, in which are seated front and rear coiled springs 15 and 16. The latch member 1 is also provided in advance and in rear of its pivot with sockets or recesses 17 and 18 in which are fitted the outer ends of the front and rear springs 15 and 16. The rear spring is longer than the front spring, and it is adapted to maintain the engaging front end or head of the latch member firmly in engagement with the catch or keeper 5 of the sliding door 6, and the front spring, which forms a yieldable stop for the front arm or portion of the latch member, is secured at its outer end tothe same by a transverse pin 19. The inner end of the front spring is secured to the front support by a pin 20, preferably extending into the sup-port from the front thereof, but any other suitable means may be employed for securing the ends of the front spring to the latch member and to the front support of the bracket. The shorter front spring supplements the action of the rear spring, and is adapted when the front arm or portion of the latch member is forced outwardly to exert an inward pull upon the same, and it forms a yieldable stop for the latch member to assist in maintaining the same in engagement with the catch or keeper 5, when the door is swayed back and forth by the wind or other disturbing means. This will prevent a barn door when swayed in the wind from becoming accidentally disengaged from the latch member.

The catch or keeper 5'consists of a plate or piece, secured by a screw 21, or other suitable means to the outer face of the sliding door 6 and having a head or engaging portion at the front. The head or engaging portion has a rounded or beveled front face 22, and it is provided with a shoulder 23, adapted to be engaged by the head of the latch member. The head 4 of the latch member has a beveled or rounded front face 24 and an. inner shoulder 25, and when the sliding door is-olosed, the beveled or rounded faces contact with each other, and the front arm of the lever is forced outwardly to permit the catch or keeper to pass beneath or behind it, and when the engaging portion of the catch or keeper is carried past the head of the latch lever, the latter is swung inwardly by the springs and automatically engages with the said catch or keeper.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A latch for sliding doors including a support, a latch member pivoted at an intermediate point to form front and rear arms, the front arm being provided with an engaging portion or head, a relatively long rear spring mounted on the support and engagmg the rear arm of lat-ch member forforcs ing the front arm inwardly, and a short front spring secured to the support and to the front arm of the latch member and constituting a yieldable stop for the front arm and cushioning the same, whereby the latch member is yieldably supported in its normal position, said front spring also supplementing the action of the rear spring when the front arm is forced outwardly beyond its normal position.

2. A latch for sliding doors including a supporting bracket having spaced ears and provided in advance and in rear of the same with seats, a latch member pivoted at an intermediate point between the ears to form front and rear arms and provided at its front arm with an engaging head, a relatively long spring mounted on the rear seat and interposed between the same and the rear arm of the latch member, and a short front spring secured to the front seat and to the front arm of the lever and forming a yieldable stop for the front arm and cushioning the same, whereby the latch member is yieldably supported in its normal position, said front spring also supplementing the action of the rear spring when the front arm is moved outwardly beyond its normal position.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

BERTRAN LAURITSEN. lVitnesses J. E. MCKENNA, H. C. BAGHELDER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. i 

